Military
Page 2

The military has been a key driver of technology throughout history and the 21st century is no exception. Drones, GPS and the internet itself are just some of the transformative technologies originally developed for the military that have found commercial applications, and the list continues to grow.

Another iconic piece of Cold War hardware is flying into history as the US Marine Corps retires its last Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft. In a ceremony, US Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2 stood down the last Prowler squadron after 42 years of service.

The US AFRL has given the green light to start building a new hypersonic rocket capable of flying at eight times the speed of sound. The X-60A vehicle has passed its Critical Design Review and now moves into the fabrication phase in anticipation of its maiden flight sometime in 2020.

In a recent US Army live fire exercise, an automatic countermeasure system successfully deflected 15 out of 15 anti-tank guided missile attacks. The Lockheed Martin Modular Active Protection Systems detected incoming missiles and deflected them off target by jamming their guidance signals.

Boeing has taken the wraps off its latest combat drone​, presenting a model of its Loyal Wingman UAV at the Australian International Airshow. The concept demonstrator aircraft is being developed in partnership between the Australian government and Boeing Australia.

The F-35 Lightning II fighter showed off its capability during the latest Red Flag Exercise earlier this month. Flown by airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing’s 4th Fighter Squadron, the 5th generation fighter took part in the aerial war games involving 3,000 personnel.

The US Air Force shows that the venerable B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber is a long time from hitting the boneyard as it completes testing of the latest upgrade for its Conventional Rotary Launcher (CRL) to bring more munitions to bear at any one time.

A consortium led by BAE Systems has been tapped to provide the Royal Canadian Navy's (RCN) next generation of frigates based on Britain's Type 26 warship as part of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy with BAE providing the variant modifications.

A Cold War veteran bowed out today as the last eight Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado strike aircraft retired from active service after 40 years. The swept-winged multi-role fighters touched down at RAF Marham in Norfolk, England after flying back from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

BAE Systems and General Dynamics have been tapped by the US Army to each build 12 prototype medium-armor vehicles. Part of the development phase of the Mobile Protected Firepower program, the US$376-million contracts aim to develop an agile, multi-terrain platform for Infantry Brigade Combat Teams.

The US Air Force's next strategic heavy bomber has passed a critical design review. On November 28 to 30, the US Defense Department carried out a multi-disciplined technical evaluation of the proposed B-21 Raider and has determined that significant progress has been made on the project.